I think I'll blame McDonald's for this "we deserve" attitude that is so prevalent today. Go ahead -- sing it with me -- "You deserve a break todaaaay...at McDonald's". There are a lot of things wrong with the world in general today, and I'm inclined to blame McDonald's for a lot of them (but I'll have a diatribe about McDonald's another time).
But this attitude of "I deserve this or that" really rankles me. It is a selfish attitude that excuses the speaker of all sorts of ill behavior under the overriding theory that the he/she is somehow entitled to behave this way. I've got news for you, America, you don't DESERVE anything! "I deserve a new car." No, you don't. What you deserve is to be rewarded for responsible behavior. A new car is not a right -- it is a privilege that carries responsibilities that must be obeyed. "I deserve to spend my money frivolously because I earned it." No, you don't. You deserve nothing -- you earned the money and can now choose to spend it how you wish, but you don't deserve anything.
On the last Home Makeover program that I saw (the season ending episode -- very touching story and gave me a lot to think about), Ty tells this woman that she "deserves" this house. I agree that this woman, who had sacrificed a lot in order to take care of four boys (two of which were born with HIV), was an amazing example of self sacrifice and love. She had, out of pure kindness, adopted these three boys (the fourth was her own) and provided a home for them as best she could and suffered all kinds of discrimination and meanness from others. It breaks ones heart to think that there are those who would discriminate against children, even to the point of issuing death threats and bodily injury, just because they were born with a disease. Granted, HIV is scary and not well understood, but that is no reason to ostracize a child or an innocent angel who cares for that child.
I agree that this woman had done wonderful things and was deserving of praise and emulation. But the statement that she deserved a house fell on me like a spiked ball (it stung but then rolled off). And I thought again about what is it that we deserve. According to Jefferson and the Founding Fathers, we are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights, including the rights to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness (or the opportunity to rise or fall according to our own industry). The original draft actually included the word Property instead of Pursuit of Happiness. I am not sure who decided that the wording should be changed, but I agree with that change. Property, or the ownership of property, is not a right of this citizenship. We believe in the free market system (with all its faults) that allows one to own property if they can find a way to afford it. The right to Property is thus earned and paid for.
So did this wonderfully generous woman earn the right to the property? I don't think so. She earned our respect and she is an example that others should follow, if not in deeds then at least in attitude. But she didn't earn the property. She didn't "deserve" it. That ABC was willing to reward her for her selflessness and give her this marvelous gift is laudable; although, ABC and its sponsors make money on this show -- the market system still rules here. That is not to say that I think they should stop. On the contrary, anyone with the means can afford to be generous and should be generous. And it usually transpires that by doing generous acts, the individual, group or company is more than compensated (either in monetary property or some other blessing) for their efforts.
Maybe I'm just being pedantic. Maybe she does, in a way, deserve some reward for her love. But I think that her reward is actually more closely related to her actions. She took care of these boys -- in the days and years to come, they will take care of her. And maybe, their story that touched the heart-strings of America (and thus made for very good TV) is how they helped to take care of her. Maybe.
As for the rest of you who just think that you are entitled to property (be it cars, jewels, houses, possessions of any kind, leisure time, higher salary, etc.), you need to start thinking. And then think again. You are entitled to nothing but what you earn from the sweat of your brow. And if your works are such that your deserts are not what you would want, then you need to review and revise your works. Ultimately, the lazy man will not eat the bread of the worker. The foolish will not be allowed admittance to the wedding supper. The sinner has no place in the Kingdom.
Of course, that leads me back to King Benjamin (grab a Book of Mormon if you don't know about him) and his statement about us all being beggars. Yes, in the end none of us deserves a place in the Kingdom. Paul explicitly put it -- We are all sinners and fall short. Justice would demand that we get our just deserts. And we deserve less than eternal bliss. But Mercy does intercede and He rewards those who are worthy of it. We don't deserve His Mercy, but he gives it to us anyway. He wants to give us this gift -- not because we deserve it but because He can purchase with His wealth what He wants. And He wants us to be happy and rewarded. Think about that for a while and then realize that our selfish attitude of deserts is out of sync with what is really true.
